Safe Sleep

This article explains the 2022 AAP policy on sleep to parents including: recommendations for a safe sleep environment and other ways to reduce SIDS risk.

Many parents set up baby registries for items that they believe their baby will need. New parents may also receive hand-me-down items from friends and family. Some popular products are unnecessary and can actually be dangerous for infants. Examples include inclined sleepers, positioners, crib bumpers, and other soft pillow-like products. This article provides guidance to new parents about safety and baby items.

Welcome to Illinois Safe Sleep Support, a program for families in Illinois to learn about the safest ways for their babies to sleep, get answers to their sleep safety questions, and get access to items they need to keep their babies safe.

Every home is different, and no checklist is complete and appropriate for every household, however many parents can use this checklist to help ensure that the bedrooms in their home are safer for their young child. This checklist includes reviewing areas and items such as changing tables, necklaces and cords, cribs, and other bedroom items.

This free online learning module for infant and toddler child care providers focuses on safe sleep in child care. Promoting safe sleep practices is a public health priority. Much research has been conducted about safe sleep practices that address sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and suffocation risk reduction. Simple care giving techniques can play a critical role in keeping infants safe during sleep. Videos, quizzes, and activities are included to help educators learn about safe sleep.

This article explains the science of safe sleep, gives parents tips to reduce the risk of sleep-related infant injury or death, and alerts parents to unsafe baby products.

The ABC’s of Safe Sleep: Infants and babies should always sleep: alone, on their backs, and in a safe crib. Sleep suffocation is the leading cause of reported child deaths in Illinois. Babies should not sleep in a bed, couch or chair with anyone, even other children. If a baby is breastfeed in bed, the parent should soothe their baby back to sleep while standing and return them to the crib when they are finished. Parents should always place their baby on their back to sleep. This page gives additional sleep safety tips for parents and caregivers.

This website gives parents and caregivers helpful information to create a safe sleep area for babies and additional recommendations to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). An eight-minute educational safe sleep video geared towards parents and caregivers is provided both in English and in Spanish.

New parents often learn how to swaddle their infant from the nurses in the hospital. Done correctly, swaddling can be an effective technique to help calm infants and promote sleep. Parents planning to swaddle their infant at home need to follow a few guidelines to make sure they are doing it safely. This article give parents and child care providers guidance on swaddling at home and in child care.